Current and former Bears say goodbye to Matt Forte

Friday morning it was made official that Matt Forte would not be returning to the Bears. After eight seasons with the Bears, Forte is expected to sign with another team for next year.

As the news spread, both current and former teammates reached out to Forte on Twitter to express their feelings for the former Pro Bowl running back.

Robbie Gould

Robbie Gould was one of the first players to express himself on Twitter. Gould was the only Bears player on the team longer than Forte, who was drafted in 2008.

Kyle Long

Offensive tackle Kyle Long took a less direct approach to his goodbye. Long and Forte met up in San Francisco during the Super Bowl festivities. Friday, Long retweeted a picture the two took together.

Lance Briggs

Longtime Bears linebacker Lance Briggs went through a similar process at the end of his career with the Bears. However, unlike Forte, the split between Briggs and the Bears was much less amicable. Friday, Briggs tweeted out a picture of the two former teammates.

Patrick Mannelly

No one has ever played more games for the Bears than Patrick Mannelly. While he may not have played a big of a role game-in-game-out as Forte. Now a Bears analyst on the radio, Mannelly shared that “one time” Forte talked with him.

Where Forte ends up next year is still a mystery. Although there are some potential options already popping up for the running back. He hopes to recreate what happened with Charles Tillman, who after leaving the Bears made a trip to the Super Bowl with the Carolina Panthers.